Written Answers Tuesday 13 April 2010

Scottish Executive

2014 Commonwealth Games

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-28930 by Shona Robison on 16 November 2009, whether the budget for the 2014 Commonwealth Games is still £453.6 million.

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it anticipates that the 2014 Commonwealth Games will be delivered within budget.

Shona Robison: The announcement on 16 November 2009 that the games budget would be boosted to £453.6 million (at 2007 prices) followed a thorough review of all aspects of games delivery. That review has given the government and its games partners confidence that this enhanced budget will deliver a games in which Scotland can be proud while recognising the responsibility to be prudent in the use of public funds.

  With our games partners, we have introduced strong measures of financial control and risk management to ensure that the games budget is tightly controlled. These measures give us confidence that the games will be delivered within the agreed budget, which remains at £453.6 million at 2007 prices.

Audiology

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many students have entered the BSc honours in audiology course at Queen Margaret University in each year since 2005.

Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-26844 on 9 September 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Audiology

Ross Finnie (West of Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many students have entered the graduate diploma in audiology course at Queen Margaret University in each year since 2005.

Shona Robison: I refer the member to the answer to question S3W-26843 on 9 September 2009. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx .

Dentistry

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients were registered with dentists as at 1 March 2010, broken down by NHS board area.

Shona Robison: This information is not currently available. Information on patients registered under NHS arrangements for the period up to 31 March 2010 will form part of a National Statistics Release which is due to be published on 27 July 2010. We do not hold information on the number of patients who attend a dentist under private arrangements.

Dentistry

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients were registered with dentists as NHS patients as at 1 March 2010, broken down by NHS board area.

Shona Robison: This information is not currently available. Patient registration information for the period up to 31 Mach 2010 will form part a National Statistics Release which is due to be published on 27 July 2010.

Dentistry

Rhoda Grant (Highlands and Islands) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients were on dental waiting lists as at 1 March 2010, broken down by NHS board area.

Shona Robison: This information is not held centrally. As independent contractors dentists are not obliged under their NHS terms of service to advise NHS boards of any waiting lists they may hold. Individual NHS boards may hold information on those waiting to register with their salaried dental service.

Energy Efficiency

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with COSLA regarding the provision of a council tax discount for those who install energy efficiency measures in their home.

John Swinney: There have been a number of discussions with COSLA (involving ministers and officials) regarding provision of a council tax discount scheme since the Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 was passed. While it is for each local authority to decide how its scheme should operate, the Scottish Government is continuing to provide support. This includes support to the Improvement Service and COSLA to derive a list of options on which local authorities can draw in developing their own schemes.

Energy Efficiency

Karen Gillon (Clydesdale) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its position is on limiting a council tax discount for those who install energy efficiency measures in their home to those customers who use Scottish Gas as their installer.

John Swinney: The Climate Change (Scotland) Act 2009 places a duty on individual local authorities to introduce a discount scheme. It is for each local authority to decide how its scheme should operate in practice.

  An important consideration for the local authorities in the practical implementation of their schemes is to ensure that the discount in council tax is only available to those householders who install energy efficient measures of an approved quality and standard. Working in partnership with Scottish Gas is one way, but not the only way, in which this can be achieved.

  To assist the local authorities, the Scottish Government is supporting the Improvement Service and COSLA in work to derive a list of model schemes which local authorities may wish to draw on when developing their own schemes.

Finance

George Foulkes (Lothians) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what its policy is regarding companies owned by it or any of its agencies setting up subsidiaries in offshore tax havens.

John Swinney: A section of the Scottish Public Finance Manual deals with Tax Planning and Tax Avoidance. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Government/Finance/spfm.

Finance

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what discussions it has had with banking representatives concerning the phasing out of cheques and its impact on Scottish businesses and consumers.

John Swinney: Scottish Government officials have had no discussions with banking representatives regarding the phasing out of cheques and to date has not been made aware of any concerns or impact on this issue by consumers or businesses.

Finance

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what representations it is making to the UK Payments Council regarding the phasing out of cheques.

John Swinney: Scottish Government has made no representations to the UK Payments Council regarding the phasing out of cheques and to date has not been made aware of any concerns on this issue by consumers or businesses.

Health

Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the diagnosis rate per 100,000 population was for alcoholic liver disease in each of the last 10 years, broken down by NHS board.

Shona Robison: Centrally held information does not allow the explicit identification of the diagnosis rate for alcoholic liver disease by NHS board. Patients may be diagnosed with alcoholic liver disease by their GP or in an acute hospital setting. Neither information on GP contact rates or acute hospital incidence rates would provide an accurate estimate of the number of patients diagnosed with alcoholic liver disease.

  Information on discharges from acute non-obstetric, non-psychiatric hospitals is available from the Scottish Morbidity Record 01 (SMR01). Information on GP diagnosis rates is available form Practice team information (PTI). PTI data is obtained from a sample of Scottish GP practices. The PTI does not provide estimates for individual NHS boards.

Health

Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people were supplied with oxygen for home use in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Shona Robison: Some of this information is not held centrally. However, partial information is held by National Services Scotland and is as follows.

  The following table shows the number of Home Oxygen Concentrators installed as at December in each of the past five years.

  

 Year
 2005
 2006
 2007
 2008
 2009


 Patients
 3,111
 3,322
 3,479
 3,770
 3,955



  The following table shows the number of Home Oxygen Concentrators installed as at the end of February 2010, broken down by NHS board. A breakdown for previous years is not available.

  

 NHS Board
 Patients


 Ayrshire and Arran
 336


 Borders
 104


 Dumfries and Galloway
 230


 Fife
 228


 Forth Valley
 194


 Grampian
 366


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 932


 Highland
 281


 Lanarkshire
 371


 Lothian
 651


 Orkney
 43


 Shetland
 45


 Tayside
 328


 Western Isles
 36


 Total
 4,145

Health

Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many patients were prescribed portable oxygen in each of the last five years, broken down by (a) type of portable oxygen and (b) NHS board.

Shona Robison: Some of this information is not held centrally. However, partial information is held by National Services Scotland and this is as follows.

  The following table shows the number of patients provided with a form of portable oxygen* via National Services Scotland as at December 2008 and 2009.

  

 NHS Board
 2008
 2009


 Ayrshire and Arran
 61
 75


 Borders
 17
 20


 Dumfries and Galloway
 27
 34


 Fife 
 38
 57


 Forth Valley 
 21
 44


 Grampian
 30
 55


 Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 130
 199


 Highland 
 22
 38


 Lanarkshire
 29
 47


 Lothian
 70
 112


 Tayside
 42
 52


 Island Boards**
 ***
 16



  Notes:

  *Includes "Homefill", Portable Concentrators, "BabyOx" and Liquid Oxygen. Figures have been aggregated together due to low numbers and potential risk of disclosure.

  **Figures for Orkney, Shetland and Western Islands have been merged together into "Island Boards" due to potential risk of disclosure.

  ***The figure here was less than five and has been removed due to potential risk of disclosure.

  Additionally, information on the number of portable oxygen cylinders dispensed broken down by cylinder type and NHS board is set out in the answer to question S3W-32421 on 13 April 2010. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Health

Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many canisters of each type of portable oxygen were prescribed in each of the last five years and at what cost, broken down by NHS board.

Shona Robison: The information is set out in the following tables.

  Number of 460 Litre Portable Oxygen Cylinders1 by NHS Board, 2004-05 to 2008-09

  

 NHS Board
 Financial Year


 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09


 NHS Ayrshire and Arran
 976
 1,492
 1,862
 1,953
 2,269


 NHS Borders
 277
 424
 495
 518
 376


 NHS Dumfries and Galloway
 215
 554
 832
 1,236
 1,302


 NHS Fife
 317
 717
 1,229
 1,454
 962


 NHS Forth Valley
 237
 260
 314
 579
 731


 NHS Grampian
 534
 974
 1,338
 1,736
 1,318


 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 1,074
 1,732
 1,996
 2,727
 3,446


 NHS Highland
 462
 700
 996
 1,039
 998


 NHS Lanarkshire
 958
 1,032
 1,026
 1,374
 1,483


 NHS Lothian
 406
 750
 1,085
 1,640
 1,443


 NHS Tayside
 156
 441
 792
 890
 660


 NHS Island Boards2
 8
 23
 42
 169
 113


 Scotland Total
 5,620
 9,099
 12,007
 15,315
 15,101



  Number of 300 Litre Portable Oxygen Cylinders by NHS Board, 2004-05 to 2008-09

  

 NHS Board
 Financial Year


 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09


 NHS Ayrshire and Arran
 206
 174
 193
 159
 239


 NHS Borders
 74
 34
 36
 26
 100


 NHS Dumfries and Galloway
 155
 150
 114
 102
 169


 NHS Fife
 329
 219
 238
 227
 803


 NHS Forth Valley
 119
 82
 58
 111
 123


 NHS Grampian
 158
 94
 84
 72
 462


 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 426
 380
 454
 438
 483


 NHS Highland
 183
 179
 155
 105
 218


 NHS Lanarkshire
 237
 153
 208
 227
 220


 NHS Lothian
 400
 370
 255
 220
 500


 NHS Tayside
 286
 178
 160
 163
 355


 NHS Island Boards2
 26
 41
 37
 20
 88


 Scotland Total
 2,599
 2,054
 1,992
 1,870
 3,760



  Gross Ingredient Cost of 460 Litre Portable Oxygen Cylinders 1 by NHS board, 2004-05 to 2008-09

  

 NHS Board
 Financial Year


 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09


 NHS Ayrshire and Arran
 26,268
 45,351
 73,055
 104,718
 122,391


 NHS Borders
 8,709
 16,228
 22,849
 33,885
 25,416


 NHS Dumfries and Galloway
 9,893
 23,448
 53,602
 87,550
 86,428


 NHS Fife
 9,800
 26,258
 51,984
 95,617
 61,977


 NHS Forth Valley 
 16,266
 18,520
 20,658
 41,356
 53,084


 NHS Grampian
 19,974
 34,838
 55,535
 92,015
 88,933


 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 54,066
 91,165
 126,203
 222,599
 320,824


 NHS Highland
 22,218
 47,651
 65,299
 85,786
 71,169


 NHS Lanarkshire
 47,831
 50,133
 60,383
 95,555
 92,563


 NHS Lothian
 21,204
 42,387
 68,390
 118,699
 111,246


 NHS Tayside
 5,064
 18,011
 46,796
 74,954
 42,053


 NHS Island Boards2
 732
 1,106
 2,117
 13,713
 8,870


 Scotland Total
 242,024
 415,096
 646,872
 1,066,445
 1,084,955



  Gross Ingredient Cost of 300 Litre Portable Oxygen Cylinders by NHS board, 2004-05 to 2008-09

  

 NHS Board
 Financial Year


 2004-05
 2005-06
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09


 NHS Ayrshire and Arran
 3,725
 3,889
 6,851
 3,284
 5,042


 NHS Borders
 1,833
 873
 660
 634
 2,695


 NHS Dumfries and Galloway
 4,202
 3,118
 2,253
 2,366
 4,546


 NHS Fife
 9,531
 6,601
 4,821
 5,463
 22,971


 NHS Forth Valley
 4,151
 1,837
 1,320
 4,902
 7,617


 NHS Grampian
 2,974
 1,634
 1,839
 2,101
 14,657


 NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde
 18,617
 17,289
 18,619
 18,067
 20,839


 NHS Highland
 4,101
 9,419
 3,563
 3,309
 8,824


 NHS Lanarkshire
 9,571
 2,852
 7,562
 8,918
 7,764


 NHS Lothian
 12,637
 10,680
 8,120
 10,349
 22,998


 NHS Tayside
 8,506
 4,357
 3,725
 3,506
 17,165


 NHS Island Boards2
 944
 761
 782
 398
 2,387


 Scotland Total
 80,792
 63,311
 60,114
 63,298
 137,506



  Notes:

  1. CD type 460 litre and DD type 460 litre cylinders have been aggregated together due to low numbers and potential risk of disclosure.

  2. Figures for Orkney, Shetland and Western Islands have been merged together into "NHS Island Boards" due to potential risk of disclosure.

Housing

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will provide local authorities with a power of entry and inspection of private rented accommodation where there are complaints regarding the quality of the landlord’s management or the behaviour of the tenants.

Alex Neil: I established a high level stakeholder group – the Private Rented Strategy Group in September 2009 chaired independently by Professor Douglas Robertson to take forward the conclusions of the Private Rented Sector Review which was published in March 2009. The group’s first task was to take the evidence and submissions, emanating from the review and come forward with a set of proposals for legislative change. It published its report in January 2010 and I have agreed to consult on its recommendations.

  The group’s remit is "To advise the Scottish Government on how it can support tenants, landlords and others to grow a professional, high quality Private Rented Sector equipped to provide sustainable housing solutions for Scotland in the 21st century" and as part of its deliberations it has considered a range of options presented by stakeholders for consultation for a proposed private housing bill.

  The group considered a recommendation from Glasgow City Council on whether access should be given to premises for the purpose of applying the "fit and proper person" test in relation to landlord registration. The group did not adopt this proposal as this may be seen as intrusion on tenants and could be an infringement of their human rights. Local authorities already have the powers under section 47 of the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 and Section 81 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 to gain access to a property under certain circumstances.

  The group did agree however to consult on a couple of measures to allow private landlords the right to gain access to a property such as applying to the Private Rented Housing Panel when in dispute with a tenant about gaining access in relation to the Repairing Standard and allowing a private landlord to inspect and gain possession of an abandoned property by applying to an authorising body.

  The group’s work is not concluded and it has identified a number of issues that it will consider further over 2010-12 and therefore no final discussions have been made on its recommendations.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when the provisions in the Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Bill will come fully into force.

Alex Neil: We are consulting with stakeholders, including lenders, the courts, the advice sector, insolvency practitioners and others to ensure that all involved have sufficient time to prepare. We anticipate that we will commence the act in its entirety in September 2010.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many debt advisers have received training to use the provisions in the Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Bill to assist clients in mortgage arrears.

Alex Neil: We are working with the Scottish Legal Aid Board and the Repossessions Advice Group to develop training for the advice sector and plan to hold dissemination events during the summer. The training will focus on the new requirements and the skills and competencies required for the new lay representative role.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will bring before the Parliament regulations and guidance to support the operation of the Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Bill.

Alex Neil: We plan to lay regulations and produce guidance to support the operation of the Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Act 2010 by the end of June 2010.

Housing

Mary Mulligan (Linlithgow) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what actions it has taken to advertise the measures available to people at risk of repossession of their home, following the passing of the Home Owner and Debtor Protection (Scotland) Bill.

Alex Neil: We are working with the Scottish Legal Aid Board and the Repossessions Advice Group to develop training for the advice sector and plan to hold dissemination events during the summer. We are also considering what other measures are needed to publicise information about the act more widely to those at risk of repossession.

Mental Health

Robert Brown (Glasgow) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will lodge amendments to Part 2 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Bill to safeguard the independence and standing of the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland.

Shona Robison: The Order-making powers in Part 2 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Bill apply to the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland in the same way as they do to other public bodies listed in schedule 3 to the Bill. Any proposals for an Order under Part 2 of the Bill would have to satisfy the stringent statutory and procedural safeguards set out in the Bill and would be subject to public consultation and Parliamentary approval by affirmative resolution. The Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 25 March 2010.

Prison Service

Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people (a) in prison or (b) subject to a drug treatment and testing order have had their methadone prescription withdrawn in the last year after failing a drug test.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information requested is not held centrally for both prisons and Drug Treatment and Testing Orders.

Prison Service

Annabel Goldie (West of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people on a methadone prescription (a) in prison or (b) subject to a drug treatment and testing order have failed a drug test in the last year.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  The information requested is not held centrally for both prisons and Drug Treatment and Testing Orders.

Prison Service

Richard Baker (North East Scotland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answers to questions S3W-32236, S3W-32237 and S3W-32238 by Kenny MacAskill on 17 March 2010, whether it plans to collect this information in future and what information it holds on the educational attainment of prisoners.

Kenny MacAskill: I have asked Willie Pretswell, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, to respond. His response is as follows:

  SPS has no plans to capture the specific information requested in questions S3W-32236, S3W-32237.

  In respect of the information requested in S3W-32238, SPS is working with its education contractors and partners to develop information about the qualifications gained by prisoners during time spent in custody in Scotland. The first phase of this exercise has been to collect information in respect of Scottish Qualification Authority (SQA) awards – such qualifications can be gained by participating in the education sessions and attending the vocational opportunities available in prisons. The tables below provide details of the number of prisoners gaining SQA awards and the total number of awards gained – shown separately for each category - during each of the last three years. This information is the best available and may not be strictly accurate given that only limited quality assurance has been undertaken at this stage of the development. Further work is planned to examine the feasibility of collecting details of other non-SQA awards gained in custody.

  Education:

  

 Prison
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09


 No. of
 No. of SQA
 No. of
 No. of SQA
 No. of
 No. of SQA


 Prisoners
 Qualifications
 Prisoners
 qualifications
 Prisoners
 qualifications


 Aberdeen
 65
 141
 85
 209
 69
 152


 Addiewell
 N/A
 N/A
 N/A
 N/A
 0
 0


 Barlinnie
 214
 365
 250
 612
 385
 929


 Cornton Vale
 23
 145
 52
 257
 120
 163


 Dumfries
 26
 41
 69
 125
 114
 254


 Edinburgh
 89
 323
 156
 326
 195
 344


 Glenochil
 43
 450
 78
 397
 96
 325


 Greenock
 91
 221
 91
 175
 160
 287


 Inverness
 158
 218
 159
 189
 114
 152


 Kilmarnock
 130
 141
 123
 172
 129
 133


 Open Estate
 170
 90
 64
 94
 67
 102


 Perth
 138
 525
 235
 651
 418
 1,007


 Peterhead
 71
 168
 95
 368
 86
 202


 Polmont
 205
 318
 228
 448
 272
 435


 Shotts
 172
 159
 99
 211
 161
 135


 Total Education
 1,595
 3,305
 1,784
 4,234
 2,386
 4,620



  Vocational:

  

 Prison
 2006-07
 2007-08
 2008-09


 No. of Prisoners
 No. of SQA Qualifications
 No. of Prisoners
 No. of SQA Qualifications
 No. of Prisoners
 No. of SQA Qualifications


 Addiewell
 N/A
 N/A
 N/A
 N/A
 20
 20


 Barlinnie
 45
 110
 65
 275
 150
 727


 Cornton Vale
 10
 34
 4
 15
 23
 60


 Dumfries
 18
 82
 28
 163
 20
 120


 Edinburgh
 85
 420
 105
 487
 121
 483


 Glenochil
 97
 405
 75
 288
 91
 343


 Greenock
 35
 190
 2
 10
 75
 408


 Open Estate
 144
 418
 122
 516
 159
 747


 Perth
 11
 15
 1
 1
 30
 94


 Polmont
 102
 291
 108
 319
 84
 250


 Shotts
 11
 77
 7
 43
 13
 86


 Total Vocational
 558
 2,042
 517
 2,117
 786
 3,338


 Total Education and Vocational
 2,153
 5,347
 2,301
 6,351
 3,172
 7,958

Prison Service

Aileen Campbell (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many new criminal offences the Scottish Parliament has created in each parliamentary year since 1999.

Kenny MacAskill: The information requested is not held centrally.

Renewable Energy

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-32499 by John Swinney on 26 March 2010, what estimate it has made of the business rates revenue foregone in 2010-11 as a result of the new renewable energy relief scheme.

John Swinney: Each renewable energy producer will be able to benefit from a discount on their business rate bill of up to 200,000 Euros over a rolling three year period. This is the maximum that can be awarded under State aid de minimis.

Regional Selective Assistance

Patrick Harvie (Glasgow) (Green): To ask the Scottish Executive what obligation periods have been applied as part of the terms under which each individual Regional Selective Assistance grant has been awarded since 3 May 2007.

Jim Mather: Under EC Regional Aid rules 2007-13 there are minimum conditions periods which apply to offers of RSA for investment or job creation projects. However, conditions can and do vary above the minimum level on a project by project basis. The statutory conditions periods for grants made since 3 May 2007 are set out as follows:

  

Offers from 3 May to 30 June 2007
Offers post 30 June 2007


Aid for Initial Investment Projects:
Jobs – 18 months from date of final payment.
Assets – 60 months from date of first payment or 18 months from date of final payment, whichever is the longer.
Aid for Job Creation Projects:
Jobs & Assets – 60 months from date of first payment or 18 months from date of final payment, whichever is the longer.
Aid for Initial Investment Projects:
Jobs – 18 months from date of final payment.
Assets – 36 months (SME) or 60 months (Large Enterprises) from date of final payment.
Aid for Job Creation Projects:
Jobs – 36 months (SME) or 60 months (Large Enterprises) from date of creation of each job 
Assets – 36 months (SME) or 60 months (Large Enterprises) from date of final payment.

Regional Selective Assistance

Derek Brownlee (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S3W-32499 by John Swinney on 26 March 2010, what the total business rates income for onshore renewable developments was in the most recent year for which figures are available.

John Swinney: This information is not held centrally.

Residential Care

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive what action it is taking to support people who self-fund their care home costs in cases where there is a disparity between their fees and those paid by local authority-funded individuals receiving the same level of care.

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will review the fairness of the care home costs system for people who self-fund.

Murdo Fraser (Mid Scotland and Fife) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will encourage care home providers to liaise with local authorities that will act as agents for people who self-fund their care home costs.

Shona Robison: The amount self funders pay for their care home costs is a matter between the individual and the care home provider. It is not appropriate for the Scottish Government to intervene in the contractual arrangements between self funding residents and independent care providers.

  Care home rates for publicly funded residents are negotiated on an annual basis between the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities and representatives of the independent care home sector as part of the National Care Home Contract. The Scottish Government is not involved in these negotiations. Current fee levels are based on a detailed study that was undertaken in 2004 to establish the cost of residential care and have been up-rated annually since then.

Scottish Government Procurement

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vehicles it and its agencies (a) own and (b) lease, broken down by fuel type.

John Swinney: The following table gives details of the number of vehicles owned by the Scottish Government, broken down by fuel type:

  

 Fuel Type
 Number of Vehicles


 Diesel
 181


 Dual fuel (LPG / petrol)
 5


 Hybrid (petrol / electric)
 24


 Petrol (solely run on petrol)
 2



  The Scottish Government does not currently lease any vehicles.

  Information is not centrally held by the Scottish Government for any of its agencies.

Scottish Government Procurement

Alison McInnes (North East Scotland) (LD): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vehicles it and its agencies purchased in each of the last five years, broken down by fuel type.

John Swinney: The following table gives details of the number of vehicles purchased by the Scottish Government in the last five financial years, broken down by fuel type:

  

 Year
 Number of Diesel
 Number of Hybrid (Petrol / Electric)


 2005-06
 17
 1


 2006-07
 19
 2


 2007-08
 26
 18


 2008-09
 13
 1


 2009-10
 25
 2



  Information is not centrally held by the Scottish Government for any of its agencies.

Sport

Stewart Maxwell (West of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it is aware of any overseas sporting competitors withdrawing from tournaments in Scotland due to UK taxation laws.

Shona Robison: We are not aware of any overseas sporting competitors withdrawing from tournaments in Scotland due to UK taxation laws.